Things That Make You Go....HMMMM???

Sometimes I feel like all I do is announce to everyone I come in contact with in a day how tired and sleep deprived I am. I work over forty hours a week and take care of my husband and child.

Bless my heart. (Right?!)

So, I come home from picking up JP today and began cooking dinner. After dinner we played for a little while and then Scott gave JP his bath. Bathtime for the two of them is a very special time. They stay in there FOREVER and absolutely destroy the bathroom. Scott likes to encourage me to sit down and rest during this time each night. Tonight was a perfect time for that---my neck hurt, my back hurt, and I had a splitting headache.

Off they went to the bathroom......and what did I do? Just what any other overworked, sleep-deprived mother of a toddler would do.......I STRAPPED ON A BACKPACK VACUUM CLEANER AND CLEANED THE HARDWOOD FLOORS AND BASEBOARDS!

Yes, you heard me correctly! My response is the same as yours. WHAT??????? Why in the world would I do this???? I don't have an answer for you other than I am completely out of my mind! Isn't that what Saturdays are for? Or, better yet, isn't that what the springtime is for?? Apparently not.

I don't know why I am posting this. I guess after I put away the monster suction machine, I sat down on the couch and released a very long and pitiful sigh. Afterwards I thought to myself, "What are you sighing for, idiot, you should have been sitting on the couch the whole time!"

Oh well, maybe tomorrow night. To my wonderful friends out there who see me on a daily basis.....when you ask me how I'm doing, and my response is something like, "Oh, I'm okay...just really tired..." TELL ME TO GET OVER IT!

I Love This Little Guy!

Things are going pretty well here. As you can see on the sidebar, JP is still in his crib and crying less. He's even sleeping (almost) through the night! It is wonderful. We still have a lot of sleep to catch up on, but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel! Praise God......literally! I began praying over JP the other night. Why I've never done this before is beyond me. I've prayed FOR him before, but never OVER him. It's powerful!

I DID IT!!!!

Hey folks! I will write more later, but I DID IT!!! I left JP in his crib all night long! It was the hardest thing I've done with him so far. He screamed (a mad scream) for two hours straight. I stuck to my guns.....actually, I cried in my bed until he finally fell asleep at FOUR O'CLOCK this morning. But, that's okay. Progress! He woke up this morning and still loved me! YIPPEE!

We are hangin' with Kenzie tonight--I'm sure I'll post pictures later!

Happy Friday!

Tough Love

Those of you who know me, know the struggle I have had with JP sleeping. Things are getting worse. I usually end up putting him in the bed with us out of frustration and he always sleeps once he arrives...until now! Now he doesn't even want to be in our bed. He just decides he's finished sleeping and wants up. AND IT IS A MISERABLE STRUGGLE UNTIL HE FALLS ASLEEP!! My solution? I still do not know, but I am going to try the "tough love" method. When he wakes up the 1st time, rather than bringing him into our room, I am going to lay him back down and let him cry for x amount of minutes. When he gets up again, I'll lay him back down and not return for a little longer....etc...etc. I can only imagine how hard this is going to be, however, it's no piece of cake now!

On the way to pick him up this afternoon I was praying about the whole situation. I told God that I would need His help. I know how bad I am gonna want to give in. It literally breaks my heart to think of JP standing in his crib with his little arms reaching up screaming, "MAMA!" Right in the middle of my prayer God spoke to me. (You know when a thought comes into your head OUT OF NOWHERE- and you know it's the Holy Spirit.) He said, "I never left you." I wasn't exactly sure what that meant. He continued...."I never once left you over this past year when your arms were up in the air and you were screaming for Me. I didn't always give you My peace. I didn't always pick you up and hold you. I certainly didn't give you what you were screaming for. But I was there. I just knew what was best for you."

WOW!!!! My heart almost stopped. I stopped praying then and cried. He's right. Just because I don't respond right away when JP holds his arms up and screams for me doesn't mean I'm not there. I just know what's best for him!

Thank you, God for talking to me.

Some Cute Pics of JP and a Revelation.....

I am really excited about something I feel God leading me to do in the near future. I would appreciate all of your prayers! I will share the details when it's confirmed. It's in the area of ministry. NO....don't worry, co-workers!! It will NOT take the place of my job. It's something on the side. Now that I have you all wondering what in the world is going on, I'll leave it at that!

I hope you enjoy the spaghetti pics---it's his absolute favorite food, besides lo mien noodles. But we're going to have to stay away from those for a while....my nose is still sore! (No, Melissa..I do not need a swallow study!!he!) It's perfectly normal.

3 Posts in 1

Conviction

At church this Sunday, we heard a sermon on finances. It was AWESOME, but very convicting for me. Basically it's everything I've always heard, just in a new light. Bottom line: God is the owner of everything. We are only His managers. How do we manage His money? I won't go there! So, Scott and I are beginning a new series by this particular speaker to eliminate our debt over the next several years. Also, we tithe. We give God 10%. However, the other 90% belongs to God too. It's not mine to blow! OUCH! I'll keep you posted as to how things are going with this! So far.....I came home today and the kitchen was a mess from yesterday. It was 5:00, so despite the packed out pantry (from the 100 dollar grocery trip) we ordered Chinese food. How's that for commitment and stewardship! (I'll be apologizing to God later for that.)

Weight-loss

Along with our finances, my body doesn't belong to me either. How do I honor God with my health? I used to do well. Since we began the adoption process over a year ago, not so good. I completely lost my focus. My health went down the drain. I gained a ton of weight and stopped running/exercising. God also convicted me about my health Sunday. You can pray for me in this area. I'm usually so busy caring for JP, it's easy for me to neglect my own health. But, I am going to try!

Noses and Noodles

I mentioned in the 1st mini-post that we ordered Chinese food tonight. Well, this is the 2nd time in two weeks that we've eaten this for dinner. I love the lo mien noodles. BOTH times I have eaten them, about half way through my meal, my nose begins to burn. I go to the bathroom and blow my nose. A noodle comes out! Yeah, yeah....I know it's gross, but it's the weirdest thing I've ever seen. I had to share. I mean, I have no idea how I get noodles in my nose.

Maybe this has happened to you before?! Oh well! I hope no one stops reading my blog because of this!

I Want To Be A Bethlehem

All of you know that I read constantly. I think I have about 4 books going right now. Everything from the Bible to Mary Higgins Clark suspense!

I found a quote in one of my favorite books the other day that I wanted to share. The book is by Joanna Weaver, "Having a Mary Spirit." This is the author that introduced me to "flesh woman!" (Who, by the way, appeared in my home yesterday...that's a whole other post!)

Here's the quote: "I want my life to be a Bethlehem. I want to be a portal through which Christ may come into my world." How beautiful is that?? I have never thought of my life that way before. What would happen if all God's children asked God for their life to be a Bethlehem? Something to think about! I don't know about you, but I really NEED to ask God to come into my world through me DAILY! Because, I am too flesh to accomplish His will on my own. As soon as I let my mind/spirit wander from the things of Him.....BAMM!!!! She appears! Anyone around me can tell when I am not walking with God on a particular day. I am ashamed of who I am without Him.

I hope you all are having a fabulous Sabbath!

My New HotWheel!!!!

Thanks aunt LaLee (Laurie) and Chris for my new Diego hot wheel! I love riding it all over the house!!!

A Thought for the Day.......

Don't ever watch the movie, "A Walk To Remember," (based on the book by Nicholas Sparks), on the day you are going to a child's funeral.

A Prayer for Kristen

Father,

Tomorrow will be a very sad and lonely day for Kristen Mitchell. My prayer is that You will surround her with Your Presence and let her know that You are near. She will need Your strength to make it through. Comfort her. Love her. Hold her.

Remind us all that, in Your arms, Tyler is happy, and finally healthy. May Kristen and her family find peace in knowing that.

Amen.

Snow (Part Two)

Papa, is Teeka in the fence? I'll just see for myself...
Okay, I have fallen....how do I get up?
I'm up....
....and walking!

Little feet-Big attitude!
1st sighting of the gutter!
How can I get past daddy to get to the gutter?!
Oh, but wait....here's a puddle of water. This could be fun!

Snow (Part One)

So that's a snowball! It's cold! The water coming out of the gutter is really cool!
Can I drink it, daddy?
Can someone help me put my glove back on?
Where did the water go?

Okay, it will take me at least two posts to put the pictures on here. My computer is slow uploading for whatever reason.....

Anyway, JP loved the snow. ABSOLUTELY ALL HE CARED ABOUT was the water dripping out of the gutter. He is too funny! I will post more later today. I hope everyone is having fun!

P.S.

IT'S SNOWING IN SOUTH CAROLINA!!!! Yippee! I cannot wait to share this with my little man tomorrow!!!

Stay tuned for pics of JP (hopefully) enjoying his first snowfall.......

A much lighter note....

Greyson Thomas Crowe Jp checkin' him out!
JP kissing him! How sweet!

In light of everything that has taken place the past few days, it was nice to get away and enjoy some good news!! Our friend from work, Kim, had her baby boy! He is happy, healthy, and very very cute!! Kim is doing great.



JP liked to look at Greyson. However, he DID NOT like his mommy holding him!! It was too funny! It's hard for me to believe now that he was ever that small.



Congratulations, Kim and Kevin!

Today

Those of you who know me know that I work at a preschool for children who have special needs. We lost one of our students today.

I would like to ask those of you who read my blog to pray for Kristen. A single young mother who lost her joy today.

Thank you.

Sad

Today was a hard day at work. I won't share details on the computer, but a few people I work closely with lost their loved ones.

My mother works with a beautiful Hispanic lady named Maria. When I take JP to visit her at school, Maria always snatches JP up and sings to him in Spanish--he loves her. She passed away yesterday. Mom called me at work around lunchtime to "cheer her up." Little did she know, I was in my own state of sadness.

I just feel blah. I called my husband just to hear his voice, and I could not wait to get my hands on my baby. I was reminded today that life is short. AND life is hard.

I've been sitting here staring at the computer screen for about 15 minutes. Obviously I don't have anything else to write. I am sorry to be such a downer.

Happy Belated Birthday, Aunt Rose!!

Before I color, I am going to see how they taste. Wonder what Rose's favorite color is?
Let's try blue.....not too girly, but feminine.

How do I get this Sharpie in here. Concentration....(sorry it's so dark.)
Taking crayons from one box and putting them in another.
This is me and my little attitude! I am hitting the crayon box b/c I am frustrated at it.
Finished product. I did take a few minutes to actually color on the paper.
Sorry it's so late. My mommy cannot seem to get her act together these days. We thought of you on your birthday.....does that count?! I can't wait to give you my card!

We love you,

Me and Mommy